Broken
by rizzledindigochaser5582
Summary: Castles life was perfect.Alexis was earning high grades,He was back to the way he was with Kate and the team,and everyone he loved was safe.  But what happens when Castles gets the one call that changes his life and Alexis forever?  spoilers for Season 3
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, a new story! Well a new Castle story let`s just say! Well as the summary says it contains spoilers, so it will have spoilers for early season 3. This will be a darker Castle fic I think, compared to my "**_**A night at the castles**_**" fic, simply because where the idea came from.**

**If you don`t know where the idea came from, spoilers say that an extended member of the Castle family dies very early in season 3...**

**Disclaimer: Nope I don`t own, can`t even get the DVD`s here! And I don`t own the spoilers either ;)**

**Xxx**

"You know Castle, it`s good to have you back" Kate beckett smiled shyly while she scribbled something down on a sheet of paper before her, as Castle observed her from his seat next to her desk. He took a sip from his mug of coffee and left it down on top of a stack of books. She glanced at his actions from the corner of her eye; she didn`t want it to look like she was actually interested in what he was doing.

He grinned brightly at her statement and glanced around him, then leaned in closer to the desk, avoiding the promised spilling of his coffee.

"It`s nice to be back. You know, I was only research-" he tried to explain his wrong doings when they reunited, which lead to the unfortunate arrest of the man himself.

"She looked pretty much _dead_ Castle" she arched a brow at this, a disapproving stare being sent his way and he let his head fall to his chest for a brief moment; leading Beckett to believe something was wrong.

"But she wasn`t!" his head shot up and she jumped momentarily, creating a squashed looking `K` in the paperwork she was filling out; once her hand had slipped.

"But the fact is you shouldn`t have been up to no good in a _packed _apartment block"

"I didn`t know that an elderly woman from _downstairs _with all those cats had _such good_ hearing!" he tried to defend himself but all faltered when he saw people giving him odd looks so he returned all attention to Beckett who was still quite amused. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned in closer again and looked up at her.

"Ok, but in future, don`t _try_ and look like a murderer and if you need to do that sort of stuff, at least inform me _first_ so I can sort out something. So we won`t be getting calls about a murder happening; in the _upstairs floor_" she finished with a sharp exhale of breath and he nodded, slapping his hand to his chest which resulted in a coughing fit and Beckett ended up face palming herself.

"I _promise_" he looked sincere and he held trust in him that he really was being sincere. Rick castle was a many of many odd ways, so she was wary on what she could trust him with; but she knew one thing and she had yet to fully admit it to herself. She trusted Richard Castle with her _life_.

"Promise accepted" they both felt quite content with her answer and continued back to watching each other.

"So how is all with Demming?" he seemed quite distant on the subject, probably just trying to make up conversation she guessed and she sighed, resting her pen back down on the table and turned her full attention to the writer next to her. He leaned back freely in his worn chair and she brushed a strand of hair from her eyes as her brunette locks hung over her shoulders and he seemed suddenly awkward that he had even considered asking. He wasn`t exactly in the place to ask, after all it was him who left her all summer.

"Tom and I broke up" she looked saddened but it only lasted for so long until Castles voice snapped her from it.

"You did? When?"

"Right before you left, right before I talked to you in the corridor" she added and he completely tensed. It was his fault, she was hurting all summer and he had left her?

"Kate, I`m so sorr-" he attempted to apologize and she shrugged her shoulders, but tears were evident in her eyes. He laid a hand over hers and then pulled away but she smiled thankfully toward him.

"Thanks for caring Castle"

"Of course I`d care Kate" his words left a smile to her lips and they both held eye contact for a brief moment until Castle heard his phone beep but continued to smile at her.

"Probably just a publisher or something" he pointed to his phone and looked at the caller ID. He furrowed his brows as Kate made a joke which made him laugh and he picked up the phone, announcing his name to the caller until his smile began to wash away, and his eyes turned into a violent sea, bashing against the shore. He faltered when asked something and began to whimper while Kate stopped laughing and started to look worried; then Castle shot up from his seat and started to run around her desk and down the bullpen, hoping to reach the elevator before it closed.

"_No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! __You`re wrong, do something!" _

A brief pause.

"_Do something!"_ he yelled into the phone as Lanie, Ryan, Montgomery and Esposito joined a stunned and slightly scared Kate, while they all watched the scene unfold before them.

"Girl, what`s up?" Lanie questioned and Kate answered without turning. She was too focused on what was the matter with Castle than anything else.

"I have no idea"

"_Please, please just do something!"_

Silence.

"Don`t lie to me!"

Silence.

"_She can`t be, please just do anything I`ll pay, I`ll pay anything just-"_

Silence.

"_She has a family, I`m her family...don`t, please just-"_

Silence.

Castle hung up and let his phone drop to the ground with a shuddering shatter, his whole body racked over with tears while he decided either or not to get the elevator ride or to just stay put. He didn`t know. He couldn`t even think straight right now, he- he didn`t know what to do.

He led himself back into the bullpen, his arms hanging limply by his sides while onlookers just stared at him quietly as he made his way to the kitchen and sat down at the table; leaving the completely quiet bullpen to shudder and return to their work and for Castles team members to just stare at the man in the kitchen until someone decided he needed company...

**Xxx**

**Thank you for reading guys! I`d absolutely love to know what you thought about this ;) I`ve had this idea in my head ever since I made that castle spoilers video on YouTube that this was the way castle would react. I`ve been told who it is, but then again I haven`t seen any spoilers confirming it was indeed that person. I`m assuming you guys don`t mind hearing spoilers so I`ve been told its Gina, yet I don`t think it is her! Well it could be but who knows I`ll guess we`ll have to wait for I think 3x03 to figure that one out!**

**~ lynne xx**


	2. Chapter 2

_Was Hey, I`m back! Wow can I just say thank you so much for the amazing reviews I received from the first chapter? THANK YOU! Seriously, I didn`t think I`d get that much considering how long it took me to think up of a summary that sounded somewhat ok and that would fit the limited word count. But you guys are awesome for giving my story a chance ;)_

_Thank you goes to: Beckett NYPD, csimesser1, Mac, Eliza C., Bella Paige, azul-jisbon, Lisbon94, briandbr549, Koezh and LittleWeasleyGirl- Kate Castle_

_Disclaimer: Everything Castle belongs to the amazing writers of Castle and I make no profit for writing this! Just sweet reviews is all; D_

_Well enjoy...I know everyone has their mixed opinions on who dies as do I, but you never know who it might be, they could actually surprise us on who it is..._

**Xxxxxxxxxx**

_**Previously on "Broken"**_

**XXX**

_Castle hung up and let his phone drop to the ground with a shuddering shatter, his whole body racked over with tears while he decided either or not to get the elevator ride or to just stay put. He didn`t know. He couldn`t even think straight right now, he- he didn`t know what to do._

_He led himself back into the bullpen, his arms hanging limply by his sides while onlookers just stared at him quietly as he made his way to the kitchen and sat down at the table; leaving the completely quiet bullpen to shudder and return to their work and for Castles team members to just stare at the man in the kitchen until someone decided he needed company..._

**XXX**

Ryan, Esposito, Lanie, Montgomery and Kate continued to stare at the emotional man in the kitchen. Something quite clearly had stirred up major trouble in his personal life and yet none of them knew what to do. Ryan was the first to turn, his distinctive blue eyes scanned each of them and he shoved his hands into his pockets, and then ran his finger through his hair.

"Hey what happened?" he questioned and all eyes turned to Kate who just looked up, then she widened her eyes and stood up, crossing her arms over her chest and glanced at the kitchen and back to the detectives.

"I-he was, I" she stuttered, trying to make sense of it herself and looked at the wall right behind Esposito`s head until Lanie let a hand rest on Kate`s shoulder and she looked at her sympathetically.

"We were discussing his arrest, me and Tom, him leaving and then we started laughing about something and-" she was instantly cut off by Esposito who too, had his arms crossed, a mask of seriousness across his features while he exchanged glances with Lanie.

"-And then Castle got a call and started running" he finished and she nodded, she was still pretty confused if she had to admit it. Everything had happened so fast.

"One of us should go and talk to him" Montgomery suggested and they all looked at each other and then to Kate who was still looking at Castle from where they stood.

"Kate"

"What?" she spun to look at them with a deer in headlights look and then Lanie pointed to the kitchen and she nodded, making a beeline toward the kitchen which in reality wasn`t very far from her desk. She stood for a moment outside and then she pushed open the door, not alerting him at all as he began to play about with an apple he found in the fruit bowl on the table.

She wandered up to the desk and looked down at him for a brief moment, then pulled over a chair so she could sit next to him, with a side view of course. She sat forward and clasped her hands, thinking of what to do, thinking if there was in fact anything she could do to help him. She decided to observe him instead; it was most likely the only thing she could do that wouldn`t end up with her being thrown out for the room for prying. They kept silent for a few moments until Castles breaking voice broke it and she stared at him with widened eyes, awaiting his next words.

"S-S-She's d-d-d-dead" he whimpered, trying to control his tears before the detective and she tried to do something, anything to calm him down but clearly anything she could do would never be enough to get through t him.

"Castle, whose dead?" she tried to prompt him and he continued to make dents with his nails in an apple he had taken from the fruit bowl, not that he had any intention to eat it. He continued to stare at the apple until he could strangely see his ex wife's face on the shine of the apple; which caused him to drop it and Kate to stare as the apple rolled off the table and smashed against the floor. She gulped then slowly and steadily looked back to Castle who was boring his eyes into the table.

"Castle?"

He snapped out of it and glanced up at her, watching as he shut his eyes for a brief moment then opened them only for Kate to look back at him, her face holding concern more than he had ever seen on hers before. His lips moved but no words escaped and he furrowed his brows as tears continued to well up in his eyes.

"T-that bastard just came i-i-in to her home and s-s-s-shot h-her dead...w-why would he do that?" he stuttered, his jaw trembling and his whole body shaking as Kate tilted her head and begun to get more worried than she already was.

_She?_

_Her home?_

_Dead?_

"Castle, who did this _bastard_ hurt?" she tried her best to ask the question without sounding terribly insensitive and his eyes locked with hers and he held a steady gaze, pressing his hand to his head for a brief moment then pulled it away, staring back at her with tear filled eyes.

"M-M-Meredith" she collapsed into a heap of tears as he slammed his hand down hard on the table, standing up and hitting anything he could find until it smashed to the ground and Kate began to let the tears that had been kept at bay to fall rapidly down her ghostly face. That was not who she was expecting at all and guilt washed over her as the writer continued to throw things until he suddenly calmed down. She stood and wandered fearfully up to him, scared she'd do something that later, she would regret. She stood next to him for a few moments until next thing she knew, he was darting out the door.

"I-I need to go-I got to get to Alexis; I-" yet another sentence went unfinished as Kate ran out of the kitchen after him, while her team watched as Castle frantically begun to press the buttons next to the elevator watching as the numbers passed painfully slow, every moment that passed was one extra moment of happiness Alexis would get to enjoy before he told her the new her mom was dead. That her mom had been murdered.

_Alexis._ She remembered.

She ran up to Castle as Lanie stared wide eyed and back to the men who surrounded Kate's desk.

"Something's wrong with Alexis?"she questioned, then gaped at the thought of anyone harming the young castle girl and she watched as Castle began to panic, while Kate tried her best to help him out. She exchanged saddened glances with Ryan, Montgomery and Esposito and shut her eyes for a moment, then opened them up as Esposito wandered over to her and led her away; leaving Montgomery and Ryan to remain at the desk.

"Castle, I'll drive you home"

"No, I- I can drive"

"No Castle, you can't. Alexis doesn't need another parent-" she stopped dead in her tracks when she realised what she had said and she rested a hand on his shoulder and led him into the elevator once it opened up and he glanced over to her after a few minutes.

"You're right, I'm sorry I-"

"Don't be, Castle I want to help. You're my partner, you've saved my life before, now let me return the favour" she added, hinting a smile as she wiped the tears from her eyes, smudging some of her mascara while she was doing so and he nodded. He just wished this was all a horrible dream, one that he would get to wake up from in the morning and that he'd get to be back to his old self that they'd all be back to the way they had been.

_Hehe so Meredith is the oen to die? I hope it wasn't a let-down compared to the first chapter! Well please let me know what you thought of this, you know I love each and every one of your reviews!_

_Talk soon? YES! _

_~lynne xx_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Wow thank you so much yet again for the amazing feedback I got from the last chapter! I'm delighted to know you are enjoying this so here I am with another chapter!**

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Castle.**

Castle sat shotgun in Kate's car, staring out the side window watching the bright lights of the stores dart by like lightening while Kate remained focused on the road, as she tried to stop visioning Meredith; her soft red hair, those blue eyes, her expensive designer wear...Alexis mother, Castle first wife. The radio played a slow country song as she continued to follow the cars leading into the city and she took a left onto yet another traffic filled street, people wandering about the place in odd directions. Gripping tightly onto the wheel, she took to the task of overtaking cars, blue and red lights flashing and reflecting off the strips of colour that seemed to continue into the infinity of the street and most likely beyond it.

Castle turned from the window, and then decided to take swift glances at Kate who at this stage was studying the street intensely as heavy lashes of rain pelted down onto the SUV and the windscreen, almost blinding her from her sight beyond the inside of the vehicle. He picked up her cell and she nodded when she noticed him and with shaking hands, he pushed in the keys until they shaped the words _' I'll be home in about 10 minutes, I love you Lexi'_ and sent it, placing Kate's phone back down in the space for the drink holders and settled back into the seat, wiping his eyes with the front of his fingers until they left small red finger lines beneath his eyes and down his cheeks.

"Can you talk?"

She stared blankly for a moment until she spiralled back to reality and she glanced over at him at stopped lights, pedestrians darting about the road and down the street, huddling next to each other and pulling hoods lightly over their heads while immature students began to scream as they emerged from nightclubs.

"Talk?"

"Talk to me" he pleaded, leading Kate to knit her brows together in curiosity and drum her fingers along the leather of the steering wheel. What could she possibly talk to him about? Funeral arrangements? What detectives should work the case? Endless thought spiralled about her head and she looked back toward the road as the SUV was shot back into the rainbow of colours and she attempted to say something but all failed, when she noticed asking about Gina would be a HUGE mistake. He continued to sit silently in the seat, fiddling about with his thumbs until she finally found something worthy of talking about.

"How is Naked heat coming along?"

Her question had shocked him further and he let his eyes trail up to meet hers and she tilted her head as he too, failed to allow anything to escape his lips. He continued to stare at her in confusion and she turned on the air con as the cool fall weather began to set in. She pressed her foot down hard on the gas pedal and it tore down the road, until she was stopped by another set of traffic lights.

"Naked Heat; _My book_?"

"Naked Heat, _your_ _book_" Assuring him, he nodded in a gaze and then rested his elbow along the stretch of plastic that ran along the inside of the passenger side window, he leaned his head against the cold window, clouds of condensation forming along the window.

"Good, I'm almost finished it" he added and she nodded, forcing a smile and he continued to look out the window before he decided he needed to stop acting like this. He had to try and act more humane towards her; he couldn't risk shattering their partnership over his mourning mood.

"When should I be expecting my copy?" she questioned, a grin lighting up her face and he glanced at her, letting out a small 'Tssk' sound and rubbed his forehead, as a small smile pulled at his lips.

"Soon hopefully" he added and she nodded. No point messing with something if it's in the works of getting completed. She was glad to see he smile a little even though he really shouldn't be but she couldn't bare sitting through days without having the usual castle by her side. That smile, would keep her content just for now.

They continued on in the stream of traffic, angry taxi drivers honking aggressively as people tried to manoeuvre here and there on the lane of traffic, only trying to get home. They eventually pulled up outside Castles place. She could see from the road that his loft was brightly lit and she shut her eyes for a moment. She didn't want Alexis to relieve what happened her ten years ago. She would never wish that upon anyone and she couldn't believe a similar thing would shatter her partner and daughter's hearts right at this moment.

"Are you ready?" Kate questioned and Castle stiffly nodded, climbing out of the car and pinched the bridge of his nose, leaning a hand on the roof of her car and Kate watched him until he pulled himself together and walked next to her, his body shaking and he was unable to control it. They entered the building and took the elevator, both dreading for what was to come.

**Ooh so what did you guys think? I want to say sorry for leaving you for about 4 months with no updates, I swear I must have had writers block or something because usually I wouldn't ever leave it that long to update. Fingers crossed it doesn't happen again! I hope you can forgive me :) Oh and I'd like to wish everyone a VERY be-lated Christmas hope you all had great holidays and Happy 2011 everyone! Hope you all have a wonderful year ^_^**

**One more thing! I'm writing 2 more Castle stories at the moment. One is called 'Never grow up' and Its on chapter 8 now and the other one I have to re-name it but I'm on chapter 3 or 4 with that one! I'll post hem soon hopefully and thanks for reading guys! You're the best ;)**


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